


Meeting at the sea

by Rogercat



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Cultural Differences, F/M, First Meetings, Horse Racing, King - Freeform, Matchmaking, Princess - Freeform, Riding, Sea, Self-Esteem Issues, Talking, Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 02:56:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20108023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rogercat/pseuds/Rogercat
Summary: The King of Rohan meets his future bride





	Meeting at the sea

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Unlos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unlos/gifts).

> (surprise treat for Unlos due to me liking this couple, despite not getting this image originally for TolkienRSB)

She needed the long ride to calm down her nerves. The sound of the waves as she rode past them, always helped her in the past when there was something which troubled her mind. 

“ ** _Please let it go though, please let this not be yet another suitor who rejects me…!_ ** ”

Lothíriel knew that her prayer to the Valar sounded childish for her age, but there was no other words she could find. This morning, she had overheard her parents speak about her future. They were worried that her past experience of suitors would haunt their only daughter as long as she looked for a husband in Gondor. Her former suitors from Dol Amroth had been pleasant enough, but they were all dead, killed in the War of the Ring. 

Éomer, the newly crowned King of Rohan. That was the name of her newest possible suitor. She had seen him from a distance in Minas Tirith, when King Aragorn had been crowned and then married to Queen Arwen. But despite finding him handsome, Lothíriel had found herself unable to go up to him and exchange greetings. 

Not when she had spotted some of her former suitors in the same room, smirking at her in arrogant triumph over that she was still a unwed maiden after their rejection. 

“He is only eight years older than me and his sister have caught the heart of my cousin Faramir, surely that would help to make a marriage between Rohan and Dol Amroth possible as well…” 

Even if she were young, Lothíriel knew how important it was for her to marry. And from what she had managed to learn from Éowyn before the marriage between the Princess and Faramir earlier this spring, Éomer would not be bad husband if she only could adjust to the sea of grass in Rohan instead of water.

She was unaware of the two figures watching her from a distance. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

“Are this really wise, mylady? Since I do not want to cause your daughter's social reputation to be questioned...” Éomer asked to his possible mother-in-law, looking down at her from Firefoot. The Consort of Dol Amroth met his eyes with her own black eyes, hinting to the very distant blood of Harad which she had passed down to her four children. 

“Her past suitors did much harm to her self confidence, all because they mistook her chubbiness to be a sign of gluttony when it comes to food, when in reality Lothíriel simply have looked like that since she was a toddler.” 

Well, that Éomer could imagine to not be pleasant for a young maiden to hear, especially with a possible history of teasing and name calling involved. A sister like Éowyn was very helpful when it came to figuring out the finer details when it came to her gender, even if Éowyn naturally was very different in personality and upbringing than the ladies of Gondor. 

“Then I shall tell her that it is viewed as a good sign in Rohan that she enjoys eating, for that is said to be gratitude towards the Lady of Spring, the wife of Béma.”

In Rohan they used different names on the Valar, but the Consort had a good guess on which ones he meant. 

“Good to hear that. Now ride down and see if she might be up for a challenge in a good race, Lothíriel is a good rider so that could help the two of you bond.” 

Éomer nodded, then made Firefoot follow after the mare in the distance. 

~X~X~X~X~X~X

Indeed the possible future Queen consort of Rohan was a good rider, as far as Éomer could tell. That alone was a skill which would gain respect among his people, given how important horses and riding was in their lives. 

  
  


“Princess!” Éomer called, finally catching up with her after a race which showed that she trusted her mare and could ride well to not fall off even when riding bareback. 

Looking over her shoulder, Lothíriel felt her cheeks turning red at spotting the very King of Rohan himself come riding towards her. 

“Did someone of my brothers tell him where I was?! Or was it…” 

Of course, her mother. In the search for a husband that would like her daughter well enough to not reject her like the others. She must have noticed how Lothíriel sometimes threw a side glare towards Éomer when he did not see her. 

“My apologies for showing up without warning like this, princess, but from the hill it seemed like your mare was about on the way to scamper in fear…” 

He was bad at lying, for Lothíriel knew the Rohirrim to be a honest people. Still, she did appreciate his concern because movements could really look different from a distance and close up. And horse riding was not without its dangers, true, even with a trusted steed which was not spooked easily. 

“Then, would you like to escort me back?” she asked, trying to not blush too much. Offering her a kind smile, Éomer allowed the princess to ride past him. Her simple yet elegant riding dress did not hide her feminine curves, but he could see that she seemed uncomfortable about people looking that way. 

With their horses walking reasonable calmly beside each other, though Éomer was prepared for Firefoot to be difficult to control if Lothíriel's mare was in heat, the two riders took a chance to talk about the differences of their homelands as that was a safe subject to talk about, even for a couple who had never met before yet could possibly become a married husband and wife in the future at some point. Somewhere in the talk, they ended up talking about their families. 

“I find lady Éowyn to be a good match for my cousin. Faramir seems to be the man she might have been looking for as a husband, even if she did not know what taste in a husband she might want.” 

“The years our late uncle spent under the spell of Saruman was difficult for all of us, more so for my sister who was the one to care for him while our cousin and myself tried to carry out the royal duties even if Théodred would not be crowned as King of Rohan before his sire had joined his forefathers.” 

Lothíriel then spoke of the shock when she had learned about the death of her older cousin Boromir, and how strange it was to know that she would never meet him again in life. 

“Even with the comfort of a afterlife, it is hard to realize it truly at first…” 

They could agree on that, the pain of not knowing how long before they would meet with loved ones again after death. 

“Would you like me to tell more of Rohan tonight at the banquet, princess?”

She dared to smile a little at him.

“I would love to, if you wishes to hear of my life here at the sea in return.”

By the Valar, Lothíriel was already looking forwards it, the evening with Éomer at her side and showing how well matched they would be as a couple. 

**Author's Note:**

> The idea of Lothíriel being more of the chubby body type comes from what would have been my own suggestion for TolkienRSB writers, had it not been for the change of some rules, in which she worries about Éomer not likening her body shape before meeting him and finding out that she is exactly his type


End file.
